This has been a big year for the world’s active volcanoes. Out of an estimated 1,500 active volcanoes, about 50 erupt every year, spewing steam, ash, toxic gases, and lava. In 2021, erupting volcanoes included the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the Canary Islands, Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland, Pacaya volcano in Guatemala, Mount Semeru and Mount Sinabung in Indonesia, Mount Etna in Sicily, Klyuchevskoy volcano in Russia, and more. Collected below are scenes from the wide variety of volcanic activity on Earth over the past year.
2021: The Year in Volcanic Activity
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People are silhouetted by the glow of lava flowing from Fagradalsfjall volcano on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, on March 28. The volcano erupted on March 19, after thousands of small earthquakes in the area over the previous weeks, and was reportedly the first eruption of its kind on the Reykjanes Peninsula in about 800 years. #
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Sunday hikers walking along in the Geldingadalur valley are wearing headlamps as they make their way to and from the site of an eruption of a volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland on March 28. #
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This image shows the ongoing eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea, on Hawaii's Big Island, on October 2. The eruption began the afternoon of September 29, as fissures in the floor of the crater. This activity is generating a lava lake that is slowly filling the crater. #
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An area is seen covered in volcanic ash at Sumber Wuluh village in Lumajang, Indonesia, on December 5, after an eruption at Semeru volcano that killed at least 13 people. #
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